Starship Excelsior
by Alcar Dovan
Summary: Now that Starship Excelsior has become a hit internet series - shameless plug! :P - it's time to release the complete original stories on which the show was based. Bit-by-bit, day-by-day, here they are. We hope you find them as enjoyable as we do!
1. 1x1: There You Are

_Preface: These are the logs of the _Starship Excelsior_, transloaded day-by-day, bit-by-bit, from their previous storage location to their new home here on fanfiction. We've written our collaborative story as a roleplying game for three years now, involving many writers, and we've recently turned the basic story into an online hit with the popular audio adaptations known as _Star Trek: Excelsior _(visit starshipexcelsior dot com to join the adventure!)_._ It feels like it is time to let these files out into the open. Updates should be pretty frequent, perhaps even daily, and, yes, the writing does get better than these early chapters. A _lot_ better. (Also, less script-y, more prose-y. Thank goodness.)  
_

_Star Trek: Excelsior_  
Episode One: "…There You Are"

[Starbase 911, Union System, Raeyan Sector]  
[Stardate 59932.1 – Late 2382 A.D.]

The U.S.S. _Excelsior_, hung in space, surrounded by one of Starbase 911's dry docks. Although the ship was technically perfect and ready to launch, she was still missing several key crew members and supplies.

[U.S.S. _Excelsior_- Captain's Ready Room]

Rachel poured some water into a glass and took a sip. From her seat she could see the Starbase in the distance. It had been a long wait in dock. The _Excelsior_ was one of the few Sovereign class vessels in the fleet and Rachel was keenly aware that her appointment to command of not only a command cruiser, but one with the legendary name _Excelsior_ was unprecedented. She understood why she had been assigned to Task Force Thirty-Eight; her last assignment as XO aboard the U.S.S. _Mercury_ had been a deep space exploration mission, and the Delta Quadrant was about as "deep space" as you could get. As she pondered, the door chimed.

**Cortez** : Come in.

The door opened and once of the Starbase engineering officers walked up to her desk.

**Cortez** : How goes the battle?

**Fredricks**: Battle?

**Cortez** : The battle to get everything up and running, Lieutenant?

**Fredricks**: We're finished with our upgrades and diagnostics. My crews are transporting back to the Starbase now.

**Cortez** : Windows cleaned, hull polished?

The lieutenant tried not to look irritated by Rachel's flippant comment, but he failed miserably.

**Fredricks**: If that's all sir?

**Cortez** : That's all, Lieutenant. I'll let you get back to your base. I'm sure there's some urgent maintenance to do there.

**Fredricks** : Aye, sir.

Fredricks turned on his heel and walked out of the ready room with Rachel a few steps behind. As he walked across the Bridge and got in the turbolift, Rachel shook her head. The crewman at the helm looked up at her.

**Davies**: Something wrong, Captain?

**Cortez** : Don't you hate maintenance crews?

Davies smirked a little.

**Cortez** : They come aboard a ship, think they're God's gift to engineering and then take two months to do routine upgrades. I am pretty sure our own engineering teams could have done all the work themselves.

**Davies**: But that's not _procedure_, Captain.

Rachel almost snorted, folding her arms.

**Davies**: Besides, they would have nothing to do without the ships that dock, they have to tinker with something or they'd start taking the Starbase apart.

**Cortez** : Indeed.

**Davies**: At least they're done now.

**Cortez** : Well, there is that.

**Davies** : Now we can fix all the things the messed with.

Rachel smiled and walked over to her chair. She sat down and shifted slightly. There was nothing like a new command seat to make a new captain feel at home on a bridge.


	2. 1x2: Worst! Writing! Ever!

_Author Note: I'll try not to make a habit of these notes, but this is really bad writing. I apologize. I have to move _every_ post to FF dot net, even the ones that make me cry inside. You can skip this one. It won't hurt your understanding of the story. But reading it... _that_ might hurt your eyes... and your soul. You have been warned!  
_

[Starbase 911]

Jack Found himself looking around the bar at each of the starbases crews and other ships crews on leave. at least we are not at war He smiled and lifted his arms above his head and plae them behind interlocking them behind his head. Jack was post to repor to the Excelsior in three weeks its not been two and half. He watch the crowed and found a few young ensgin walkeding around talking. no better wait till I get aboard so as not to be awol He laughed to himself and stood up and walked away from the table. at the bar he picked up his gear bag and walked to the door. THe next shuttle to teh ship would be in about an hour.

As Jack walked from the bar to the shutte pad, he bumped into a few old friends and otehr 'mates' as he called them. Around the last turn he about clearly knocked over a young LT, on her butt.  
" Oh I'm so sorry madam." He started out, she was a Human about 22, 24 fresh smell to her. He help her off brushing her off kinda little to much.  
She pushed off him, " Look here, thats kinda a little to much their mister " Backing up a few pasces. Jack smiled, a spit fire nice  
" Hey hey hey, look I'm just tring to be a gentlemen and elp a lady out " He spoke with a boyish kinda smile and waveing his hand out in the sign of surrender.  
She stop and looked up at him and kinda drew a smile " Well their no harm in it. Why dont you get me a drink and escot me the bar. "  
Could tis be happing, normal he would ahve to just about beg for the chance to get with a lady like her "  
" Yes maam, this way if you please " He still had three day to get to the ship whats one more.


	3. 1x3: The Little Prince

[U.S.S. _Excelsior_ - Main Engineering]

The engine room of the U.S.S. _Excelsior_ bustled with activity. Chief Engineer Lieutenant Junior Grade Aleczahnder Lorhrok took a brief moment to look up from his diagnostic console. His eyes found one of the refit subcrews still on the ship. He covertly listened in on Crewman Ado and Crewman Harkless, who were running final checks on the secondary ODN processers.

Crewman Kinash Adow whispered to her companion, "Wonder how long this work is going to last. Word is that the _Excelsior_'s going to be hitting the Delta Quadrant. Nasty space, that."

Crewman Harkless whispered back. "Heh. I heard that the Delta Quadrant is Borg space. Even _with_ our upgrades, this ship don't stand a chance in a fight."

Crewman Adow snickered quietly. "No one would stand a chance with even the best of engineering staff. As it is..."

Bristling, Lorhrok stood up from his console. He walked over and stood behind the Ensign. "Do you two have a problem, subcrew?"

The two crewmen shared a glance

"Oh, nothing, _sir_," Adow said.

Noticing the edge she put on "sir", Lorhrok figured he should defend his ship and crew. "You have a problem, mister?"

"I don't think a Junior Grade Lieutenant should be Chief Engineer aboard a ship as fine as the _Excelsior_. It's one of the most prestigious ships in the whole fleet, and they give it to you of all engineers?"

Mentally sighing, Lorhrok couldn't deny he'd asked himself the same question. There _were_ better engineers than he was. "I'm sure Captain Cortez has her reasons, crewman. Now, if you don't want me to have you put on report for your comments, I suggest you get the _hell_ out of my engineering bay. You've just been reassigned to waste reclamation system diagnostics."

Crewmen Adow looked at Lorhrok in disgust. "I do have to finish—"

"_Speaking_, or else you're going to be on report. Is that clear?"

Adow gritted her teeth. "Yes, sir."

Lorhrok looked at Crewman Harkless, who had remained silent. "Anything to add, Crewman?"

"No, sir! Nothing to add, sir!"

"Go join your friend, now."

The two walked off.

"Refit crews..." Lorhrok muttered. He went back to working on completing final redundant diagnostics.


	4. 1x4: A Poor Excuse for an XO

[U.S.S. _Excelsior_ - First Officer's Quarters]  
[01:00 hours]

Alcar Dovan leaned forward into his hands and rubbed his temples very slowly. He let a nice, long sigh escape him, just to drive home the point to anyone who might be watching that he regretted promising Captain Cortez a completed duty roster by the 13:15 staff meeting.

He picked up a PADD at random and scanned it briefly, then put it back down.

"What the hell am I doing here?" he asked to no one in particular.

It was not an unfair question, he decided. He was more than lucky to get the post on _Excelsior_ . In fact, after a two year leave of absence, he had been surprised not to get knocked back down to Ensign when he started demanding an assignment in TF 38.

_Right; that's what I'm doing here,_ he thought. _Exploration. Adventure. Wonder. Awe. And not a front-line transfer order within 70,000 lightyears._

Now that he was back in Starfleet and off that rock called Gault, Lt. Cmdr. Dovan was rather surprised at how many little things about the ship, the crew, the nameless ensigns he passed on the way to the bridge, the distinct scent of Starfleet-replicated _raktajino_ , how much it all reminded him of the seconds and minutes and hours and days and weeks of a war that had ended seven years ago. He had to admit that it was shaking him more than he would like to admit, especially to the captain.

_Right. The Captain. The one who needs this duty roster by tomorrow and needs a well-rested first officer._

He turned back to the PADD. An angular, commanding female face appeared on the screen in front of him, and, if not for the absence of officer pips, Dovan would have expected her to be at least a Lieutenant, not a mere Crewman. Of course, the first officer had already spent at least a little time with just about every crewman above the rank of Lt., J.G. by now, trying to get aquainted with each one. Something Captain Asamov had taught him about the X.O. job. _That does leave the Chief Engineer,_ he suddenly thought, and made a mental note to check with the wrench monkeys before wrapping up the roster. This caused an old mental note to pop up, to have somebody check out the transporter system in Bay 3. It seemed that they were rematerializing all molybdenum components as niobium, which was playing hell with the restocking effort. _And that was six hours ago._ It had slipped his mind.

He winced, hard.

Just as he was considering whom to send to Bay 3 at 0100 without getting in the way of the pre-launch diagnostic schedule, Dovan's computer console beeped at him. His eyes lept around the room for a second; he had been away long enough that he was still getting used to all the sound changes, and at first he thought the beeping was his alarm clock. Momentarily, he got his bearings and tapped the console, eliminating the noise and reading the report he had just received, from a Crewman... Adow.

Dovan blinked, then glanced at his PADD. _Transfer from Starbase 911 to USS _Excelsior_-C, effective Stardate 59-something._ Tomorrow. _Today_.

_Yep. Same woman._

Still holding the PADD, Dovan read through the report. A short way in, his eyebrows went up. It was more of a complaint, really. Upstart med-school dropout thought she could take advantage of an X.O. that didn't really know the crew yet.

Commander Dovan chuckled under his breath. Waste reclamation. Good one. He turned off his console, still smiling. _Perhaps it's time we meet this... Lorhrok._

Even in his head, Dovan couldn't pronounce it.

He slapped his combadge, feeling rather useful, and purposefully pushed the unfinished duty roster to the back of his mind.

"Dovan to... to the Chief Engineer!"

Immediately a voice responded, "_Lorhrok here, sir._"

Dovan's eyebrows shot up. "Lieutenant. I was going to apologize for waking you, but I see that's not necessary."

"_Not a problem, sir. Just burning the midnight oil._" Dovan thought he could hear Mister... Alex... grinning.

"Excellent. I'd like to see you in Transporter Bay 3, on the double."

"_Yes, sir._"

"And, Lieutenant..." Even though there was no one around, Dovan kept a straight face as he got to say, "...bring your little black bag."

The engineer paused, then replied, "_I'm on my way._"

"Acknowledged. Dovan out." As he finished the communique, Dovan slapped his combadge again to deactivate it. He didn't remember until he was in the turbolift that the computers did that automatically these days.


	5. 1x5: An Officer's Sense of Smell

[U.S.S. _Excelsior_ - Corridor outside transporter room three]  
[0112 hours]

Lieutenant Lorhrok stopped just outside the door to transporter room three. Mentally reviewing any repair or malfunction reports within the past twelve hours, nothing on the subject of transporters had been reported.

The replicators on deck three are malfunctioning, he thought, and the multi-deck, group-training holodeck on decks 7-10 was having troubles with the wind simulator (blowing everyone around at random intervals, before the safeties kicked in and shut it down), but nothing with transporters.

Shifting his toolkit to his other hand, Lorhrok walked into the transporter room, somewhat confused but determined to show the new XO that he could do his job.

[U.S.S. _Excelsior_ - Transporter Room Three]  
[0113 hours]

As he stepped into the room, the first thing Lorhrok noticed was a slightly acrid smell in the air. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed, but he'd been a transporter operator for a while and had stayed in a room just like this for hours on end waiting for something to happen. "Reporting as ordered, Commander Dovan," he said. "Can I help you with something?"

The XO turned from inspecting the transporter console and gave him a slight nod. "Yes, you can, mister--*cough*--mister. The transporter operator mentioned a while ago to me that the restocking effort was going slowly, because all of the molybdenum components kept coming up as niobium."

"I'll get right on it, sir. Smells like a problem with the molecular imaging scanners."

The on-duty transporter chief, a newly minted noncom if Lorhrok hadn't missed his guess, looked at the chief engineer questioningly. He looked exhausted - no doubt still adjusting to the night shift. "Uhm, smells, sir?" asked Crewman Lorth.

"Yes, crewman, smells. Don't you smell that scent? A bit like burnt plasma conduiting shielding combined with a malfunctioning self-sealing stembolt that has interface difficulties?"

Clearly bewildered, the crewman sniffed the air gingerly. [i]Which I suppose is a valid thing to do, since I made that up,[/i] thought Lorhrok. "That's fine, Lorth, just power down the transporter and I'll get to work. This should be fixed within fourty-seven minutes, since that is how long it will take to integrate the replacement parts. So we'll be back at full capacity by 0200 hours."

Dovan nodded. "Very well, Lieutenant... that will be all."


	6. 1x6: Worst Writing, Part II

** STARBASE 911 *** 0130

Jack rolled over in the bed, found that she had left it, he sat himself up one arma nd looked at her as she dressed. He still had a small buzz from teh evening before.

" Are you in a hurry " He spoke.  
She looked up and smiled, " A little, I have to report to my ship. The last shuttle from the StarBase is leaving in 20 minutes, and its that last one for a day or two " She stood up and walked over to the bed and sat down with in range of him, and she started to play with his hair.  
" Which ship? " Jack asked.  
"_ Excelsior-_C " she replied  
Jack eye brow lifted, " Really. What department "  
" Ops " Jack's eye lit up. " Well I have to go. " and she leaned in and kissed him softly, and she was off.

Oh boy. This one will be fun. Well I better catch this one two then

**** Shuttle _Ranger_ *****0150  
And with that he dressed and made his way to the shuttle. Thier was one last seat and he took it, she was sitting in the back and he hoped he hadnt seen him come on board. The shuttle left the hanger and flew out and away from the Starbase. about 30 min later the pilot came over the comm. _Excelsior in range starboard side_ A few crew and workers looked over and started to talk and point. _Must acamdeny kids great_

*** _Excelsior_-C ****  
The shuttle landed and he quickly jump out and made it out. He asked a few crew member were to go and find the XO.  
=^= _Lt Helder to Commander Dovan, I just avired on ship and would like to meet and introduce myself, before I start with my postion._ =^=


	7. 1x7: Regarding Leadership

USS _Excelsior_ - Transporter Room 3  
01:12

Commander Dovan took a few steps towards the door, then turned. Lorhrok—the name was a little easier to handle now that he had tried it a few times—was already on two knees, pulling the wall apart in a labyrinth of circuits. The Trill paused when the commander spoke.

"Oh, and Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir?" Lorhrok, already absorbed in his work, seemed to forget to look up at the ranking officer. Dovan didn't mind; he had spent three years on the bridges of various ships forgetting to refer to his CO as "sir." That was one reason among many that there he had been transferred through several bridges.

To Lorhrok, Dovan cocked an eyebrow and let out a lopsided smile. "Where did you get the word 'subcrew'?"

That did cause Lorhrok to stop and look up. Somewhat discombobulated, he replied, "I… I suppose it was... at the Academy. Sir."

Dovan grunted in response. "I'm working on the duty roster. Any preferences?"

Lorhrok looked away for a minute, thinking. Then he again faced the commander. "There's one person I think would be a great fit for the chief engineer's job; lieutenant, junior grade, remarkable engineering skills, great looks—"

Dovan raised an eyebrow. "I think I see where this is going." He allowed the tiniest hint of a smile to cross his face. "And you'll want to keep Adow in waste reclamation, I hope."

Lorhrok goggled. "You know about that? What, did she go over my head or something?" Now he was annoyed.

Dovan shook his head. "Not at all, Lieutenant. I'm first officer of this starship. I know everything."

At that moment, his combadge chirped. "_Bridge to Commander Dovan._" It was a voice Dovan recognized as Ensign Samuels, the Gamma Shift helm officer.

Activating the link, Dovan responded, "Dovan here."

"_You asked to be informed when Commander Helder's shuttle left Starbase 911. The last shuttle of the night just signalled that the pre-launch diagnostic is almost complete. They report that Commander Helder is not on board yet, but that he'll have to be there by 01:35 or he'll end up five hours late for his duty shift tomorrow._"

Internally, Dovan cursed himself for forgetting about the new Chief of Operations when he was making the rounds to the various department chiefs earlier that day. On the other hand, he wasn't even on board, yet. Still, it would have been embarrasing to turn in the duty roster at 13:15 and have Commander Cortez find the Operations slot blank.

Mentally, he amended his earlier boast to, _Everything except how to run a starship._

He sniffed again, and decided it was time to get out of the stench, which, contrary to the chief engineer's statement, smelled more like rotten eggs flecked with charred Jem'Hadar bits.

_Where the hell did that thought come from?_ he wondered, not for the first time that day.

Lorhrok had turned back to the transporter circuitry as soon as Dovan's communicator had chirped. Now, the lieutenant commander nodded to the chief. "Carry on down here, Chief. It's been a pleasure meeting you."

"_Aye, sir._" With that, Dovan exited the room, asking the computer the time as he entered the hallway.

_01:13_, he thought. _Forty-seven minutes before I swore to myself I would be in bed._ And Commander Helder wouldn't even be on board an hour.

First Officer's Quarters – USS Excelsior  
02:07

Alcar stood facing out the window, his eyes drifting between the spacedock's lattices to the starfield beyond. Every so often, a worker bee would interrupt his vision for a moment as it zoomed along with a tractor beam locked on whatever minor component it was carrying. So many little objects. So many cogs in this great machine. And he was just one part of it—a large one, to be sure, but nothing compared to the might of industry and human ingenuity that had gone into building this masterpiece. And all this, all the effort, the dreams, the hopes, the labor, all went into only one thing. When he looked at the vast array of twinkling gems an infinity away, but just within his grasp, he knew what that thing was.

The door chime beeped, and Commander Dovan slowly turned to face the door. "Come."

A sharply-dressed lieutenant stepped out of the hallway into his quarters. His uniform looked a little ruffled, but, the way the transfer schedule had been today, with department chiefs still trickling on board in the early hours of the morning, Dovan was surprised that anyone had made it on board in clean-pressed apparel.

"Come in, Lieutenant." Dovan extended a hand towards the human male. When Jack Helder took it, Dovan resisted the temptation to crinkle his noise at the faint but distinct scent of perfume. At least now we know the real reason his uniform is ruffled. Fortunately, the only other person on the ship with a sense of smell as acute as Dovan's was the Vulcan female in astrophysics. "Thank you for coming to see me so promptly. I would have liked to give you the chance to unpack."

Helder waved the problem off. "Not an issue, Commander. I just had my luggage beamed to my quarters."

Dovan snorted. "Just so long as you didn't have any molybdenum in there."

Helder looked from side to side, as if he was wondering whether something in the room had prompted the odd comment. "No, I don't think so, sir. Any particular reason you ask, or do you just have a vendetta against element 42?"

Alcar considered explaining, but decided, "Never mind. Welcome to the _Excelsior_. Well, minus the three percent that's still packaged in crates on the starbase." He handed Helder a PADD. "Does this look like a good roster to you?"

Helder quickly perused the names and pictures; as a department chief, he was required to have a passing familiarity with every person under his command, so it didn't take long before Helder looked up and handed it back to the waiting commander. "Looks good to me. I'd move Sh'van above Bowers, but that's all."

Dovan nodded. "Consider it done."

"I've never had an X.O. who asked for my recommendations before we launched."

Dovan pursed his lips. "Yes. Well… have you ever heard of a ship called the _T'Kumbra_?"

Helder paused for a second, scanning his memory. "That's a Vulcan ship, isn't it?"

"Not quite. There were five hundred and seventy-four Vulcans and one Bolian at the time that I was on board, and the first officer inherited a certain… distaste for 'emotionals' from Captain Solok. I think Chief of Navigation recognized some of my abilities and would have given me a chance, but, before that could happen, Commander Serat put me at the bottom of the duty list, the promotion list, and all the fashionable party invite lists. Once I was there, the chief was reluctant to push someone else into the position in order to pull me up, so I was stuck. I'd rather not make tyranny my leadership model."

Helder nodded amiably. "I appreciate that."


	8. 1x8: Coming Aboard

En route to Excelsior via shuttle

John was asleep at the controls of the shuttle, with his legs kicked up on the console and leaning back in his chair. The course was locked in and the computer was basically piloting the shuttle for him.

One moment, there is relative quiet within the shuttle, with the exception of the warp engines and a few beeps from the console. The next, a very loud sound like that of a moose mating call rips through the shuttle's cabin. John jerks awake, and by instincts looks around to see if anyone heard him make such a horrible sounding snore. He then remembers that he's alone on this shuttle from the USS _Tornado_. He sits back up and makes a check of his course and ETA. Another hour and he'd be aboard the _Excelsior_.

John arched his back and stretched his arms out as he let out a long yawn. He hated traveling through space in a small bucket of bolts, and alone. Some counselors would probably say that his hatred for small enclosed crafts came from the loss of his fiancée 2 years earlier. John refused to believe them; he wasn't there with her when her craft crashed on Canopus 8, a Class N planet. It took Starfleet months to figure out a way for them to be able to go deep enough in the planets oceans to recover the imploded hulk of her shuttle.

John forced himself from the very bitter memory of that whole affair. He had other things to think about, namely his new promotion to captain and taking a new unit of marines under him. Apparently his new assignment would also have some commando types for him to make use of as well, which was alright with him. He had a background in special warfare, and felt he knew how to integrate their use in the overall mission of marines.

Hastings didn't have a training plan worked out yet, but this reassignment happened pretty quickly. He didn't know until just a few days ago to pack his stuff and head for TF38's Area of Operations in the Delta Quadrant. Leaving the alpha quadrant was fine with John, there wasn't anything but painful memories there. Maybe he could find happiness on the other side of the galaxy.

An hour later, Marine Captain John Hastings's shuttle touched down in the shuttle bay of the USS _Excelsior_. He grabbed his bags and made for Marine Country, the place on each ship that the marines were mostly located. He wanted to stow away his equipment and then drop off the rest of his personal gear in his quarters before reporting aboard.


	9. 1x9: A Poor Excuse for an Engineer

USS Excelsior - Transporter Room 3  
0157 hours

*Chief Engineer Lorhrok wiped his hands together. He'd managed to get the new circuits integrated three minutes ahead of schedule. He then started to get up from his crouched position next to the wall panel. About halfway through, his knees and back cracked from having been crouched so long, and he almost toppled over.*

Lorhrok: *mutters to himself quietly* I need to excercise more...

Chief Lorth (NPC): Sorry, sir?

*The Trill looks over at the transporter chief, grinning wryly, as he replaces the wall panel and cleans up his toolkit.*

Lorhrok: Nothing at all, crewman. Just commenting on how lazy refit crews are with regards to properly testing circuits.

Chief Lorth (NPC): I know what you mean, sir. Just the other day, I was ord----

*The chief breaks off as the unmistakeable stench of burning circuits fills the room.*

Chief Lorth (NPC): Ah, sir...

*Lorhrok dashes back to the panel, rips it off the wall, and gives a little cry of dismay as he looks at the new circuits sparking and giving off smoke.*

Lorhrok: Damn! Chief, get me that fire extinguisher in the utilities locker!

*Chief Lorth rips it out and starts spraying the flame-retardent smoke all over the burning circuitry. It eventually goes out, but the damage is done. Most of the circuits are totally crisped, and will take hours to repair.*

Lorhrok: Well, now...

*The chief and the engineer exchange a look.*

Chief Lorth (NPC): Doesn't this just look like fun...


	10. 1x10: The Valandrin

USS _Excelsior _- Observation Lounge

_Leo Amara strolled of the Bridge and into the Observation Lounge to see Rachel Cortez standing talking to a Starfleet Lieutenant. Rachel nodded and the Lieutenant added something to his padd before passing Leo and leaving. _

**Amara:** Sir?

_Rachel walked over to the table taking a look at the Marine before she sat down. _

**Cortez:** Mister Amara.

**Amara:** Yes sir.

**Cortez:** Captain is fine Lieutenant.

**Amara:** Sorry Captain, _ He stood at attention. _ Second Lieutenant Leo Amara reporting aboard.

**Cortez:** Your orders?

_Leo walked forward and handed her his orders. Rachel looked over them and passed them back. _

**Cortez:** You'll want to present these to the Marine Commander before you settle in.

**Amara:** Sir? I mean Captain?

_Rachel looked up. _

**Amara:** I was led to believe I wouldn't be working within the Marine chain.

**Cortez:** Your unit does fall within the Marine umbrella of operations.

**Amara:** I haven't been a Marine for a while now Captain.

**Cortez:** I'm well aware of your service record Lieutenant, however my decision is made.

**Amara:** Captain...

**Cortez:** You will still be in command of your unit, but you will report to the Marine Commander, now dismissed.

_Leo paused not moving. _

**Cortez:** Something else Lieutenant?

**Amara:** I just wanted to convey how unhappy I am with your decision.

**Cortez:** Lieutenant, I am aware that you had a certain amount of latitude in you last assignment, but that's over and you'd better get used to it. Now, do we have a problem?

**Amara:** No... Sir.

**Cortez:** Dismissed.

_Leo turned and left the lounge. His anger brewed up as he got on the turbolift. As the doors closed he threw the padd against the wall. Many of his fellow officers who had left Starfleet Security to return to fleet operations had had their pick of assignments. Leo had understood the Special Operations department aboard the __Excelsior__ to be similar to his last assignment, now to be assigned as an element of the Marine division felt like a step back given his experience. _

_Rachel sighed, but did not seem taken back by the Lieutenants reaction. She had never been a lover of the so called elite units. She understood the need for special operations, but was against the elitist attitudes that came with them many times. _

_**Styles**_**:**_ =/\= Bridge to Cortez. =/\=_

_Rachel pressed to panel in front of her. _

**Cortez:** Go ahead.

_**Styles**_**:**_ =/\= Admiral Parker is on a secure channel for you Captain. =/\=_

**Cortez:** Put him through here Ensign.

_Rachel turned her chair to face the viewer on the wall. The image of the UFP insignia disappeared and an Admiral flash on to the screen. _

**Cortez:** Admiral, what can I do for you sir.

**Parker:** Commander, I trust you settling in aboard the _Excelsior_?

**Cortez:** Looking for a place to hang my pictures.

**Parker:** Normally Admiral Tenson would be speaking to you, but with the _Tornado_ on assignment, I will brief you on a mission I would like the _Excelsior_ to make a priority.

**Cortez:** Go ahead sir.

**Parker:** You've probably given some thought to why you've been assigned to the _Excelsior_?

**Cortez:** It had crossed my mind Admiral, I'm sure there are a great many candidates who should have come before me.

**Parker:** Not to mince words, you were not even on the initial list for command of the _Excelsior_, you were high on the list for the Atlanta.

**Cortez:** Well I would have expected something along the line of a New Orleans class ship, so what shifted me from the _Atlanta_ to the _Excelsior_?

**Parker:** Part of it was this mission, part of it we will go into at another time.

**Cortez:** Understood.

**Parker:** The Valandrin have expressed an interest in the Federation and you know what a reliable ally in that quadrant is worth to Starfleet.

**Cortez:** Yes sir, but I am not familiar with the Valandrin.

**Parker:** I'll send what little information we have so far. However you were on a very short list of candidates to meet with the Valandrin Governor.

_Rachel looked perplexed. _

**Parker:** You're a very well established combat officer Commander. You have an air of it in your attitude and this is important to the Valandrin. They are not a diplomatic people, they respect strength and a willingness to fight to establish status. The _Excelsior_ will be a massive show of strength to the Valandrin and they will respect what we are trying to say.

**Cortez:** I am still a little confused about my part in this, there are a lot of seasoned Captain's who's experience eclipse my own.

**Parker:** The Valandrin are a matriarchy. They will only acknowledge a female leader. Their males are skilled warriors, but all of their leaders are female. Out of the female candidates for this mission, you were at the top of the list. You have deep space experience, an excellent combat record and your profile shows you to take a strong position in most situations and this is what we were looking for here.

**Cortez:** So essentially my gender secured me this assignment?

**Parker:** You know what they say Commander, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. You are a skilled officer and you'll make an excellent Captain if you don't get hung up on the details. The Valandrin situation got you the assignment, now make the most of it.

**Cortez:** Yes sir.

**Parker:** I'm having my aid transmit the information on the Valandrin via a secure link, get the Excelsior ready to depart. You're not under any pressure to arrive at Valandria, but don't take too long to get underway. Good luck Commander, Parker out.

_The screen returned to the UFP logo and Rachel sat considering the conversation for a while. _


	11. 1x11: Surprise Breakfast

USS Excelsior - Chief Engineer's Quarters, Deck Four  
0542 hours

*Chief Engineer Aleczahnder Lorhrok sank, exhausted, into one of the Starfleet-issue chair in his quarters. The repair work on the transporter systems had taken most of the morning now, although 5:42 in the morning could hardly be considered morning to most people. It was still night by many standards.*

Lorhrok: *mutters* That's what I get for not paying attention to diagnostic three when it said quite clearly that circuit fourty-four was malfunctioning. It all adds up to a big mess.

*After laying there with his eyes closed for several minutes, the Trill went to the replicator for a quick repast before he turned in for the... morning. Night.*

Blistering refit crews, he fumed mentally, I shouldn't have to spend all morn--night---agh!---cleaning up their mistakes.

Lorhrok: Computer, I'll take a... a...

*He paused for several moments, his mind dulled by being awake for just under twenty-six hours now.*

Computer (NPC): *beep* Please restate request.

*Lorhrok glared at the recessed speaker panels built into his replicator.*

Lorhrok: I'll take my time, that okay with you?

Computer (NPC): Please restate the question.

Lorhrok: Agh! Forget about it, computer. Just give me a jumja stick.

*After the computer took a few seconds to process the request, the energy stored in the replicator coalesced into the popular Bajoran sweet. He'd first tasted it aboard the U.S.S. Steadfast , the first ship he'd served on. The human science officer, Miranda Cornwell, had reccomended it to him. Lorhrok smiled to himself, then took his jumja stick and started eating it.*

Lorhrok: Blech!

*Lorhrok almost choked on the intense sour taste. It was all he could do to swallow it.*

Lorhrok: Computer! Identify the most recently replicated item at the replicator in my quarters!

Computer (NPC): One standard Bajora---

Lorhrok: Forget it.

*The Trill tapped his combadge, irritated and vexed.*

Lorhrok: =/\= Lorhrok to Engineering =/\=

T'Kala (NPC): =/\= Ensign T'Kala here, what is it, sir? =/\=

Lorhrok: =/\= Who's worked on the replicator systems on Deck Four within the past few days? =/\=

T'Kala (NPC): =/\= Checking... sir, the duty log shows that several refit subcrews were working on it, the most recent within the past twelve hours. =/\=

Lorhrok: =/\= ...acknowledged. Lorhrok out. =/\=

*There was little doubt in his mind who was responsible for the little replicator malfunction.*

Adow. Oh, and thus does the Excelsior's first combat action begin, he thought.

Jack sat up and found her gone again, man I'm not going to live this one day He roled out of bed and use the refresher and dressed in a clean unform and looked up the CO's state room. He followed the dirtection given to him by the comupter and reached her state room. He beeped the door.  
" Enter "  
" Good Moring Captain LT Jck Helder reporting with order to take the postion of Cheif of Operation Officer aboad this fine ship. " He had erstied as planed to try and get on her good side, when he meet her eyes, he saw she was not impressed.


	12. 1x12: Hunter Reporting for Duty

USS Excelsior - Transporter room  
08H00 Shipboard

*Ensign Rick Hunter stepped off the transporter pad and onto the deck to join his new ship as its Senior Diplomatic Officer. He was very excited about the assignment and had spent hours pouring over the information available on the Delta Quadrant*

Higgins (NPC): Welcome aboard Excelsior, sir.

Hunter: Thank you, crewman...

Higgins (NPC): Higgins, sir. I've been assigned as your aide. I'll take your things and show you to yourn quarters. Then you can report to the Captain, sir.

*Hunter frowned*

Hunter: The Captain? Isn't it customary for new crew to report to the First Officer?

Higgins (NPC): Crew, yes. Our Captain seems to do things a little different with her officers, it seems.

Hunter: Ah. I see. Lead on, Higgins.

*Higgins showed him to his quarters and then they made a quick stop so Hunter could see the Diplomatic Department and his office.*

Diplomatic Department Office

Higgins (NPC): We are fully equipped to handle most diplomatic functions...first contact...treaty negotiations and such. Our domain includes VIP quarters, privacy rooms, conference rooms. It's not as big as a Galaxy class or specialised diplomatic vessel, but you have a full staff including an aide and secretary, sir.

Hunter *nodding*: Impressive. I'll take a detailed tour later. For the moment I want you to prepare a presentation on Delta Quadrant races. Just a short package with important information. Have it ready for me to check once I get back and also ready to distribute to the senior officers.

Higgins (NPC): Yes, sir.

*Hunter made his way to the bridge. He was very pleased with his assignment and department. They would encounter some rough edges sooner rather than later, but he was confident they could work it out*

Bridge

*Hunter stepped onto the bridge*

Hunter: Ensign Rick Hunter, Starfleet Diplomatic Service, reporting as ordered ma'am.


	13. 1x13: Will That Be All?

Helder noded at what the XO had said. Jack's expreice with XO's was not good, three out the last four died, he hit them, or they just igoured him, having this one ask his opion was a better start.  
" Well thank you sir for asking me, give me a day or so to get to know my deptment and crew members and I will send my duty roster needs and would likes " Dovan  
" Good, but I have a deadline so dont make it to late. But if you cant get it in soon I will make a roster and submit with out you. "  
" Aye, aye sir " Helder was about to leave, but stoped, " what due you have me going on for my duty rotation? " Jack asked

Alcar cautiously raised both eyebrows. "You're chief of operations, Mr. Helder, are you not?"

Helder, by the slight widening of his eyes, looked a little worried to be getting rhetorical questions from the XO, but nodded confidently nonetheless. "Yes, sir."

"Then, on this ship, you'll be alpha shift today, alpha shift tomorrow, and alpha shift forever." Alcar put the PADD back on his desk and continued looking at Helder. "I'll use a temporary rotation for the rest of your department for now, but I expect a permenant duty roster within twenty-four hours."

"Yes, sir!"

Dovan waited.

Helder, after nodding perhaps overeagerly at Dovan's order, began to look uncomfortable, as if he was waiting for something to happen and it wasn't happening. Dovan thought he smelt a trace of sweat mingle with the perfume.

Suddenly it occurred to Dovan, That's because he is waiting for something! XO's get to dismiss people! He tried not to show his surprise.

"Will that be all, Lieutenant?"

Helder visibly exhaled. "Yes, sir."

"Then you're dismissed."

' "aye sir " and with that Jack turned and left the XO's quaters.

He asked the comupter to direct him to his quarters, and so he could get some sleep then report to the Captain. He made it to his room to find the girl laying in bed for him.

" Now did you think that i wouldnt find out who you were?"

As Lt. Helder exited, Dovan mentally rolled his eyes. Can't even remember dismissal. Who knows what I'm going to forget when the chips are down? Continuing the theme, he dismissed his thoughts and returned to the duty roster.

A minute or two later, that blasted beeping started again. He fumbled for the computer console, but found his arm strangely lethargic, like it was moving through molasses. He hit the activation button, but the beeping continued. Momentarily, he realized that this beeping was his alarm clock. Only it was going off about six hours early.

"Computer, do you have any idea what time it is?" he demanded.

The Starfleet Computer Voice, unduplicated anywhere else in the universe to Dovan's knowledge, responded, "The time is oh-seven fifty-eight."

Dovan snarled. "I wasn't looking for an answer , computer! I was pointing out to you that—" He paused. "Wait. What time did you say?"

"The time is oh-seven fifty-eight."

Dovan lept up from the desk. "One more time, computer?"

"The time is oh-seven fifty-eight."

I fell asleep in my seat. He looked down at his still-unfinished duty roster, due to the captain at 13:15. And he went on duty at 0900!

"Sorry, computer; my mistake."

"Please restate request."

"Never mind." Dovan decided his large, homebrewed breakfast would have to wait. Already stripping last night's uniform from his blue body, he jogged over to the replicator. A moment's pause. He had always been a guy for raktajino in the morning, but now the Klingon homeworld was 70,000 light years away, wasn't it?

"Tarin juice," he said, and an Enaren delicacy materialized in front of him. When he had spoken with, well, one of the lower-ranking Voyagers, the name escaped him, Ayar or something like that, about three years before, he had been told that this beverage gave about the smoothest energy boost in any quadrant. Despite its thin appearance, the liquid slid down the throat in a slow sweetness unlike anything that crewmember had experienced before. Dovan, though always on the lookout for new foods, had left Starfleet before getting the chance to download the replicator pattern, which, as he had unpleasantly discovered upon returning to Gault, had been classified by Starfleet Intelligence the day Voyager returned home and that someone had forgotten to de -classify it, with the result that he would have to rejoin Starfleet to get it.

Now, after waiting all these years, he slowly lifted the cup to his lips and let the taste seep into his mouth.

It tasted like paint thinner.

He spit it out instantly, before his gag reflex did it for him. Well, there goes the thirty seconds I allotted for breakfast. Throwing the cup back into the recycler, Dovan ran for his bedroom, where a neat stack of gray-and-red uniforms sat at the end of the bed. Still keying assignments into the roster padd, Dovan tossed the rest of his jumpsuit in a heap in the corner and jumped into the sonic shower.

Deck 7 – USS Excelsior

08:47

Alcar was gnawing the last bite of Arkalian toast off its stem when he stepped into the turbolift. He was pleasantly surprised to find Mr. Lorhrok already there, carrying a small black bag of tools and an intimidatingly large diagnostic tricoder. In contrast to Dovan's positively grinning face, the chief engineer's eyebrows were storm clouds. He looked to be somewhere between bitter, annoyed, wrathful, and, worst of all, frustrated. Alcar decided to withold the jovial greeting he had intended.

Switching to a face that mimicked Flotter, the clown from that weird kids' holodeck program, Alcar said, using as close an imitation of that annoying voice that he could stand, "Lieutenant Lorhrok, you'd better get on the Smile Shuttle before Jonah the Angry Otter catches you!"

It was a genuinely funny mockery, and its point was subtle, both direct and somehow indirect, insofar as it masked a direct order from an executive officer under a layer of gentle, congenial fun-pokin.g. A true coup for satire everywhere.

Lorhrok glared down at Dovan. Dovan decided that he wasn't going to be able to charm Alexcszchandanha—blast. The first officer could finally handle "Lorhrok", but it looked like the first name still needed work.

In any case, Dovan decided that he wasn't going to charm the Lieutenant out of his funk. So he decided to add to his frustrations and watch him squirm, solely for Dovan's amusement. And in the interests of getting ship's business taken care of before the captain had to ask. But mostly for amusement.

"Chief, I hate to add to your workload, but my replicator was producing poisons this morning. Deck 7, Section 4-G."

Dovan heard rather than saw the Trill turn and scowl. He thought he overheard something muttered concerning waste reclamation, but this was quickly followed by a curt, "I know, sir. Decks 4 and 7 are both erattic, and I believe every replicator on Decks 5 and 6 has actually shut down. Normally, we'd have three engineering teams working on this, but, what with the launch coming up so quickly—"

Dovan nodded. "You've just got the one team."

Lorhrok shook his head. "No, sir. Every member of engineering is assigned to other duties right now, and we're all working double shifts yesterday, today, and tomorrow."

Dovan finally noticed the wide dark circles under the chief engineer's eyes. "So what exactly is the chief engineer doing working on something with such a low priority?"

"I'm off duty, sir. I—"

"_Excuse_ me?" Dovan was frowning.

Lorhrok looked discombobulated. "I'm off duty, sir, so I—"

"You're an excellent actor then, Mr. Lorhrok. If I didn't know better, I'd say you'd just worked through the entire night."

Now the exhausted Lorhrok was genuinely flustered. "Yes, sir, that's exactly—"

Dovan raised a hand. "Lieutenant, depending on her orders, the Excelsior could have to launch at any time, at a moment's notice. There is absolutely no time outside of combat that I more value an engineer being at the top of his game than when we are moving this kilometer-long, glorified tin can through a door the size of my planet's capital city with just a couple of decameters between us and pulverization. Call it flight anxiety, but, according to the duty roster I just wrote, you're off-duty until Gamma shift. You are to spend the time between then and now unconscious, preferably sleeping, but phaser-stunned if necessary." Before Lorhrok could finish opening his mouth to protest, Alcar added, "That's an order." He fervently hoped that the engineer wouldn't notice the dark circles under his eyes.

After a moment of tension, the Trill's shoulders slumped. "Yes, sir." Then: "Thank you, sir."

Dovan then returned to his earlier smile. He lifted the duty roster padd and scrolled down, saying, "Well, there's only one slot left to fill. You might be of some help here, Mr. Engineer."

Lorhrok acknowledged that he was listening by turning to his superior. Dovan did not look up as he intoned, "We've got to fill the spot for command of Delta shift, and I've got it down to two choices: An Ensign Harkless and a Crewman Adow."

Lorhrok seemed to be considering allowing his smile to leak through to his face when the doors slid open to the engineer's home deck. In the end, he settled for a perfunctory "Ha," and disembarked.

As he exited, Dovan called after him, still not looking up from his padd, "Oh, and, Lieutenant!"

Lorhrok stopped and slowly turned. "Sir?"

Dovan looked up and felt a sinister smile creep across his face. "Kill her."

Lorhrok furrowed his eyebrows, thinking he had misheard. "Do what to who, sir?"

Dovan continued smiling. "I think you know who." The turbolift doors slid shut, and the car continued on course for the bridge.

Alcar looked down at the roster and changed Lorhrok's assignment for the day from Alpha shift to Gamma.


	14. 1x14: Hastings Reporting for Duty

Captain Hastings finished stowing his gear into the locker that was nearest the entrance. He programmed the keypad to the desired 4 digit number that he could remember in a hurry, and then closed the door. He picked up the one remaining bag of his, and went off in search of his quarters.

15 minutes later

Hastings checked himself one last time before heading up to meet the "old man" - which in this case was a woman. And to be fair, 30 wasn't that old either considering. But old habits die hard... the CO of a ship was always the skipper, or the old man, to the marines. It was tradition.

Not that John planned on calling her an old man to anyone but fellow marines. He was sure a skipper or two would slip out now and again though.

Before Hastings left his quarters, he picked up two padds, one with the status of the marines - 275 of them were already on board, the other 15 were due on the next shuttle over within the hour - and the other padd contained his orders.

John made his way to the bridge to find the skipper and offically report in. He wanted to get that out of the way so that he could start developing a training program for his marines, have the ever so mandatory meeting with security to appease their Officer in charge that the marines were not there to replace them, and to make contact with the Special Operations Team Leader. John was pretty sure he was going to have to appease him as well that he'll operate mostly seperate from the marine's.


	15. 1x15: Hastings Reporting for Duty, II

USS Excelsior - Briefing Room

Helder : Good Morning Captain, Lieutenant Jack Helder reporting with order to take the position of Chief of Operations Officer aboard this fine ship.

* He had planned to try and get on her good side, when his eyes meet hers, he saw she was not impressed. *

Cortez : At ease lieutenant.

* Jack relaxed a little. *

Cortez : Welcome to the Excelsior, you've had a very varied career in Starfleet haven't you?

Helder : Captain?

Cortez : The Green Bay, the Chaser, the Ranger, the Greenville, the Coronado, the Baler. That's quite a varied career for twelve years. Any reason for that?

Helder : Just seemed to work out like that Captain.

Cortez : Well lieutenant, lets see how this assignment takes shall we, I am not in the habit of replacing crew on a regular basis, so I hope you get settled.

Helder : Yes ma'am.

Cortez : Ready to work?

* Jack nodded as Rachel got up and walked passed him. He looked around as she walked out on to the Bridge. After a second he decided she probably wanted him to tag along. *

Cortez : I will be wanting a report on your staff and department as soon as you can get it prepared, I want to know the status of the ship and if it and the crew are ready to get underway. Every department head should be digging into their people to get them moving too.

* Rachel stopped at her seat and sat down. She looked up at Jack and raised an eyebrow. *

Cortez : Don't want compliancy to set in because we're in Dry Dock do we.

Helder : No ma'am, I'll get right to it.

* Rick stepped on to the Bridge. *

Hunter : Ensign Rick Hunter, Starfleet Diplomatic Service, reporting as ordered ma'am.

Cortez : All go today isn't it...

* She nodded to Jack who took it to be being dismissed and walked off. *

Cortez : Mister Hunter, just the person I've been wanting to see.

* Rick got taken back for a moment. *

Hunter : Sir?

Cortez : There is a file from Fleet Operations in the computer, get a copy and get familiar with it. It has information on a species known as Valandrin. Not quite the welcome aboard you'd expect, but I trust you are not adverse to getting straight to work?

Hunter : Yes sir, I mean, I'll get right to it.

Cortez : Welcome aboard Ensign.

Hunter : Thank you Captain.

* Rick paused for a second before realising she was done talking. Rachel was very to the point and Rick wondered if that impacted her diplomatic stance.*


	16. 1x16: On Picking a Crew, by Cortez

USS Excelsior - Main Bridge  
08:49

The bridge of a Sovereign -class starship was an amazing thing. It may not have had the grace or height of a Galaxy classes, nor the raw efficiency and strength of the Defiant, but, in it's own way, it surpassed them both. Much larger than bridges of days past, it was busy in a way not true of any other starship, with a constant mill of persons and reports. The hundreds of small displays were constantly shifting, displaying data as they ran several hundred million programs and trillions of subroutines simultaneously. It's muted colours of blue and grey projected Federation ideals of peaceful exploration like no bridge module had before. Dovan stepped out of the lift, and, as he had for the past three days of coming to the bridge, he paused for a moment as the doors slid shut behind him. He liked it here.

He scanned the bridge for the captain, and his eyes danced across the room at the sights and sounds. There was the Science I station, home of his favourite computer graphic. There was the spinning whirl of ensigns pouring in and out of the turbolifts, all carrying padd's to various places for signatures or reports. There were the engineers underneath one of the consoles, rewiring some arcane piece of circuitry. He overheard a warrant officer—probably one of the Spacedock people assigned to optimise the bridge computer stations - ask Ensign Burx, one of a number of Dovan's fellow Bolians assigned to the Excelsior , whether they had made any progress, and watched with a smile as Brux rolled out from below the console to say, "Welcome to Tenacityville. Population: you," before rolling back under without giving the warrant officer another thought.

No captain, though. He navigated the mill of people in an attempt to reach the ready room door, and, somehow, managed to make it there without a single person coming up to ask whether the seats had been reupholstered yet as ordered or some other ridiculously unimportant detail.

He heard Captain Cortez's voice reply, "Come," even before the door chime was finished with its beep, and went in. Rachel was at her desk, very intently studying something on her computer screen. She blanked it as he approached, and turned to face him, arms folded in front of her on her desk.

"Commander, I trust your settling in alright, what can I do for you?"

"Captain." Dovan handed the duty roster across the table to her. "Figured that, as long as it was done, you might like a look before the 1315 staff meeting." As she scrolled, he continued, "Helder's team isn't set in stone; I was only able to talk with him this morning, and he'd like twenty-four hours to get to know his team."

Rachel nodded. "That's fine with me, anything else?"

"I just put our chief engineer to bed. It is my judgement that it would be best to let him rest until Gamma shift. Of course, knowing a few engineers in my life, I doubt he'll actually do any sleeping, but I don't know; it's a little—may I speak candidly, captain?"

Rachel took a long moment to weigh that sentence in her head, 'speak candidly' usually meant something was wrong, "Granted."

"Do you really think a Junior Lieutenant has the Starfleet experience to run an engine room? I mean, I like the kid fine—he seems like he's a good leader, and, one day, he'll be an excellent engineer. But, here and now, he can't even keep his eyes open for thirty hours straight. How many times has he been in an engine room during a combat situation, much less commanding during combat?" Cortez was watching him carefully, but, without hearing an objection, Dovan continued. "I suppose what I'm asking is…" He struggled with his words. "What about Mr. Lorhrok recommended him to you? And am I completely out of line?" Dovan grappled with the idea of adding his most burning question 'What about me recommended me to you?' but the moment passed.

Rachel stayed seated for several seconds, her hands still folded, "Commander, would you like to have a seat?"

Dovan complied instantly, Rachel looked at him very carefully, she had build a career on reading people from a tactical standpoint and it was something she did with everyone. "Well, first things first, why don't we rephrase your question to something a little more... candid? You'd like to know how the hell somebody like Aleczahnder ended up running the engine room on one of the most powerful ships in Starfleet."

Dovan considered several amusing comments, but, in the end, merely nodded.

Rachel smiled a little, which was the first time Dovan had seen her show emotion around him. He had almost given in to thinking she was one of the Human/Vulcan hybrids who had the holier than thou attitude on humanity. "You know how many candidates I had for Chief Engineer?"

Dovan shook his head. "Thirty-two, ranging from Junior Lieutenants to Commanders, all who would want a crack at running a Sovereign classes engine room. I don't know if it is just the class, or the name of the ship, but people threw their hats in." Rachel shook her head a little, "I even had a Lieutenant Barnet from the Enterprise get a recommendation."

"That validates my question even more captain, why?" Dovan said.

"Character commander, you can have the finest personnel in Starfleet, but if they can't work with you, you're not getting the best. I looked at my personnel on what they would offer the Excelsior. Aleczahnder knew the USS Steadfast from stem to stern, not by reading specs but by getting to know the ship and every ship if different. The Sovereign, the Enterprise, the Lexington, the Excelsior, their all Sovereign class, built to spec, but none of them are the same and Aleczahnder is an engineer who will crawl through the whole ship getting to know her. You see what I mean?" Rachel sounded almost like she was preaching. "I build my crew on people not records, anyone can sound wonderful will a lot of experience, I am looking for people who are ready to make that break from good officer to great one."

Dovan pondered what she was saying for a minute. The moment was broken by the chime of the door once again.

"Come..." Rachel said looking up.

Dovan turned slightly, as the doors opened on a Marine looking around.


	17. 1x17: Care for a Drink?

USS Excelsior - Delta Lounge

Leo: "You got any scotch?"

Kali: "Sure, any preferences?"

Leo: "Scotch should be Scottish, you got any of that?"

Kali: "You know its all synthetic right lieutenant?"

Leo: "Yeah well we can't do anything about that can we."

Kali: "Well we do have a few bottles of the non-synthetic variety."

Leo: "Any scotch?"

* The young bar tender looked under the bar for a good while and pulled out a bottle. *

Leo: "That's the stuff."

* She put a glass on the counter and poured him a little. Leo took a sip and swilled it around his mouth then swallowed the rest an in gulp. He put the glass down on the counter and tapped his fingers a couple of times. Kali poured a little more and he knocked it back, tapping again. This time she paused. *

Kali: "I think that's enough for now, we serve synthetic drinks for a reason."

* Leo looked annoyed but sat back on the stool. *

Leo: "Computer, where is the Marine Commander?"

Computer: "Captain Hastings is located on the Main Bridge."

* Leo shook his head an in that second the was a crack that make Kali jump, Leo got up dropping the shards of shattered glass on the counter. *

Kali: "Hey!?!"

* She didn't get a response, he simply walked out of the doors. *


	18. 1x18: Creative Programming

USS Excelsior - Main Engineering  
1347 hours

*Chief Engineer Aleczahnder Lorhrok looked around the room once again. It was almost the end of Delta shift, but he still wasn't done with his work . He couldn't afford to not get it done, but neither would it do to be discovered.*

Listen to myself, the Trill thought, I sound like I'm a spy for the Delta Quadrant equivalent of the Romulans. It's just some... creative programming?

*Lorhrok reasoned with himself that the subtle reprogramming he was doing was perfectly fine by regulations. It wasn't a program that would drop the M/ARA containtment field or shut off the inertial dampners. He'd even programmed it to deactivate itself in the case of any alert other than the peaceful green.*

Just a dash of frustration will do that blasted Adow good. It's her own fault for messing with my replicator and accidently shorting out the flavor circuitry for four decks.

*Lorhrok continued coding and writing subroutines as fast as he could. It still amused him that, at fourteen, he'd had no idea how to do this. Still, a few of his friends had helped him and he'd soon become quite the scripter.*

A quick tweak to the user identification program, some Library Computer Access and Retrieval System modifications... change that variable, and then... aha! Done.

*He allowed himself a quiet smile of triumph. A quick glance at the shipboard chronometer revealed it to be 1359 hours - perfect timing. Miss Adow was due in Engineering any second now.*

Speak of the parasite.

*Crewman Kinash Adow walked into the engineering bay, her hands dirtied and hair askew. Lorhrok couldn't shake the feeling that a distinct air of waste reclamation maintenance worker... fragrance?... had entered the room.*

Crewman Adow (NPC): Crewman Adow reporting for shift command duty, sir.

*Knowing her fate, Lorhrok ccould barely keep a sarcastic smile from his face. He could have sworn his spots were squirming with the effort not to grin. The engineer couldn't resist jabbing her about her previous assignment once.*

Lorhrok: I stand relieved , Crewman. Computer, log Crewman Kinash Adow as the on-duty engineer. Transfer control of primary control console to her.

Computer: Acknowledged. Current on-duty engineer registered as Crewman Kinash Adow.

Adow: Thank you, sir. I'll get to work right away.

*Lorhrok nearly choked with the effort not to snicker.*

Lorhrok: You might want to check on the replicator systems on decks four through seven, they were showing some... interesting fluctations earlier. A level-five diagnostic should do it for now.

*Adow gave an almost imperceptible smirk, confirming Lorhrok's suspicions.*

Adow: Of course. I can handle that myself, you can go back to your quarters now, sir.

*Lorhrok strolled out of the engine room, but then ducked inside his office the instant he was out of sight. He activated the main engineering viewscreen receptors and focused them on Adow. She wouldn't notice a thing.*

*Adow sat down at the main engineer's console, looking bored. She reached her hands to the LCARS interface to initiate the diagnostic. The wonderful Starfleet technology was already configured for the scan - voice receptors built into the panels (standard for quite some time now) had picked up her intent.*

Won't this just be delicious, Aleczahnder thought to himself.

*As Adow's finger was millimeters from the control to start the diagnostic, the panel reconfigured itself to Terran musical library selection. Not noticing in time, the crewman's command sent the request for a song called "Guilty of Idiocracy" (circa 2047) to the main engineering speakers.*

Speakers:  
In all the world  
of all the people  
all of them are guilty  
some of mediocrisy  
some of hippocrisy  
but me - pure idiocracy!

*Lorhrok burst out laughing at the mortified look gracing Adow's features. Her face was roughly the color of the commander officers' uniforms - bright crimson. She whacked wildly at her LCARS console to shut off the continuing audio, but Lorhrok's little program, detecting that it was still Adow at the console, was reconfiguring the controls every time she got close to touching the button that would turn it off.*

Serves you right, Adow! Let's see how you handle this

*The entire on-duty engineering staff was looking at her now. Many of the humans, Bolians, Andorians, and other humanoids on duty were openly snickering at this point, while the Vulcan were exchanging eyebrow raises all around.*

Cadet zh'Ilan: Uhm, sir, do you need some help with that?

*Adow turned to her, flushed*

Adow: *scathingly* Well spotted, cadet!

*The young Andorian cadet turned red (admittedly more of a purple, being blue to begin with), then reached over to turn off the song. Lorhrok's program, detecting the change in user, immediatly deactivated itself and erased any evidence it had every existed.*

Time for the entrance.

*Lorhrok got up from his office, controlling his laughter. He casually walked back into Engineering*

Lorhrok: Problem, crewman?

*Adow glared at him.*

Adow: Everything is under control, lieutenant. The situation has been dealt with.

Lorhrok: Glad we agree. Try to keep it down, will you?

*And with a sarcastic smirk, the Trill left engineering.*


	19. 1x19: A Sharp Edged Memory

2375  
Starfleet Medical Building 27, San Francisco

Melissa sat at the counter looking into the scope of a scanner. She sat back and rubbed her eyes a for a moment, the long hours she had been putting in on her first project had taken a toll on her.

She put her eyes back to the scope but popped her head back up when the equipment around the room rattled and the glass clanked together. As she looked up she heard another rumble.

Melissa walked out of her laboratory and was greeted by a couple of the other scientist coming out of other doors looking bewildered. Soon a group was walking down the corridors towards the lobby of the building.

As the group came into the massive lobby they could see the San Francisco skyline, although it was still dark, there was a red glow from the city. Melissa wandered outside with some of the others to get a better look at what was happening.

As they stood outside the facility they suddenly could see bright flashes dropping from the sky. "Those are torpedoes!" one of the scientists said from the crowd, but there was a shouts down of how ridiculous the idea was.

A few moments passed and rumbles echoed across the sky until suddenly something dropped a few hundred meters away and suddenly an explosion blew the windows out of the nearby buildings. Screams of panic rang out and people started to scatter. Melissa's heart started to pound as she tried to think of what to do next.

She stood there, as many others were, suddenly there was a flash of light across the square. She looked over to see a small group had appeared and initially thought it was Starfleet Security beaming in to deal with things. As they advanced across the square she realised it was not security at all, in fact she recognised the Breen uniforms.

Her mind began to race about what was happening, but she suddenly hit the ground with a thud. At first she thought she had been pushed over in the rush to escape, but as she tried to move, all she could do was lay there. Everything seemed quiet and she could smell burning, then she realised it was burning from her clothes. She looked down to see a blackened patch on the front of her uniform and she began to feel light-headed.

At first she tried to cry out for help, but nothing seemed to come out. So she lay there as she started to feel cold, her mind running through what it must be liked to die.

She was surprised at how little pain she felt, but soon reasoned she was going into shock. As she looked up, she could see the flashes of weapons fire for what seemed like an eternity. Then it was dark and she could see the stars in the sky.

As she felt herself drifting away, it was almost like drifting off to sleep, her eyes felt heavy and she felt peaceful. The last thing she saw before everything went dark was someone looking down at her and touching her face.

Seven years later

Melissa played with her communicator as the Type 9 shuttle touched down on the Excelsior. She had never served on a starship before and she was feeling pretty apprehensive about it.

She remembered what the Chief Of Medicine had said at her last posting. _You don't get anywhere in Starfleet unless you've served on a starship._ And she _really_ wanted to move her career on.

Her train of thought was broken as the door of the shuttle opened. She got up and picked up her cases. The other two officers looked slightly annoyed as she tried to juggle her cases and drag something out of the back of the shuttle. Eventually she emerged with surfboard in hand.

As she walked through the ship she drew a few looks of interest at this rather small woman dragging cases and a board. Eventually she found her quarters and collapsed on the couch.


	20. 1x20: Worst Writing, Final Entry

Jack felt relived his meeting with the CO went so well. Most Captains would have taken a look at this record and found a problem child and would have basically given him s**t from the beginning. He found the Operations offices and workshops and began to meet his department members. After he walked in he found a senior chief yelling around and watching crewmen and officer running trying to get things moved around reports written and equipment stored.  
" Well chief looks like you got the minions running for the stars. " The senior chief turned into Jack face to breathe in deeply to yell.  
" ITS SENIOR CH…. JACK JACK FRAKING HELDER. I should have known, only you would even think of calling me chief, I still remember you as a snot nose cadet tiring to hit on the CO's daughter. You keeping out of trouble or does good old senior chief have to bail you out again? " Jack and the senior chief were laughing and hugged.  
" No senior, I've kept my nose clean for four years now. Besides CO's daughters are over rated. "  
" Well I'm glad to hear that Jack. So what brings you to the Excelsior? " Senior Chief asked.  
" Wow I have one on you then. I server on board now. "  
" Really, that great it will be good to work with you again mate. Which department? "  
" Like I said I have one on you, I'm chief Operations officer. Who did you think asked for you? You old space dog. " Senior Chiefs eye widening.  
" You son of a dog, I should string you up on the ward core and have you hanged." The senior chief was going into his normal return of thanking his superior for his new job. Jack had watched it now three times, and love every minute of it.  
" Ok Senior you can hang me later, but I need your help with a duty roster and a list of current crew members in are department. "  
" Done and on your desk."  
" Thanks Chief. Well guess I better get to my job and finish this for the XO. "  
And with that the reunion was over and senior chief went on his next spill about how that was an officer and that all you could learn something from him. He smile senior chief hadn't changed one bit in the last ten years. He smile to himself found his office and began to go over the crews listing. After about an hour it occurred to him that the LT that had said she apart of his crew, wasn't even list in his roster. He didn't like it, and checked the ship roster, nothing something was not right, and he was going to find out whom she was…………..


	21. 1x21: 'Issues'

USS _Excelsior_ - Ventral Weapons Turret

_Rachel pulled open a hatch and climbed into the Jefferies tube system. It was a short climb down a ladder into a large bay. Rachel took a look around but had to take a side-step as a hyper-spanner flew through the air and hit the wall nearby. _

**MacBride:** MARACKNA-A!

_Rachel could see Daniel on his knees with components all around him. She gathered that the universal translator wasn't translating because the word wasn't for use in polite conversation. _

**Cortez:** Ensign?

_Daniel tensed up and turned a little looking over his shoulder. He let out a deep breath and got up. _

**MacBride:** Captain, what can I do for you?

**Cortez:** It's customary to report in before you start pulling my ship apart, Ensign.

**MacBride:** I apologise; when I arrived you were in a meeting. I decided to get on with a few issues I noticed.

**Cortez:** Issues?

**MacBride:** I looked over the technical reports on my journey, a couple of technical problems I saw on the reports I had encountered on the _Ithaca_. I thought I would do some work then report in once you were less busy.

**Cortez:** So you started pulling apart a launcher?

**MacBride:** The reports side there was a twenty second delay when switching between ordinance. The _Ithaca_ was designed for photon torpedoes, when quantum torpedoes were introduced we had a similar delay while the autoloader configured and moved to the alternate bay.

**Cortez:** The reload cycle is quick, it is just switching between photon and quantum torpedoes that slows things down.

**MacBride:** But if photons were ineffective, we would want to change quicker than twenty seconds. Twenty seconds is a long time in a battle with the Borg or the Devore. On the _Ithaca_ we didn't have secondary launchers to take up the slack, so if we had to wait, then we didn't have torpedoes for that time.

**Cortez:** Alright Ensign, I'm sold, what's your solution.

**MacBride:** Well, the _Ithaca_ Chief Engineer and I did a little building.

**Cortez:** There's a big difference between a Yeager-class and a Sovereign. Are you sure you can improve this system?

**MacBride:** On the _Ithaca_ we had a twenty-eight second delay, we reduced it to sixteen. I am relatively sure I can reduce a twenty second delay to between eleven to fourteen.

**Cortez:** Just don't break my ship Ensign. Next time you may want to make a recommendation before you start work like this and speak to Lieutenant Lorhrok as well, I'm sure he would have some input on what your doing.

**MacBride:** Understood.

**Cortez:** I'm going to be calling a staff meeting at 1400, make sure you have this cleaned up by then.

**MacBride:** Aye Captain.

_Rachel left Daniel to his work. She had read in his service record that he was a very dedicated officer, but she hadn't quite expected this. _


	22. 1x22: The Briefing

[USS Excelsior – Conference Room]

[1400 Hours]

_Rachel looked out of the window at the Dry Dock space frame around the ship. Rachel had never been crazy about sitting in one place too long and they had been docked for a while now. Behind her the hiss of the doors opening signalled the arrival of several of her command crew. Captain Hastings was first, followed by Ensign MacBride. As they took seats around the table Ensign Hunter arrived with Lieutenants Lorhrok and Helder behind him and finally Doctor Sharp and Lieutenant Commander Dovan. _

**Cortez:** "So."

_She left the word hang in the air as she walked over and sat down at the table. _

**Cortez:** "I trust work onboard is progressing well?"

_Alcar had come in carrying a small, disorganized mountain of Padd's, each with their own piece of ship-critical information on them, from the most recent modifications to that blasted duty roster to a detailed inventory of the ship's food stores and long-term survivability projections should they for some reason be cut off from food re-supply, from a brief discussion concerning the calibration of the matter-antimatter ratio to a rather lengthy dissertation on the continuing paint job Starbase Work Crews D-G were overseeing underneath the port nacelle, from Mr. MacBride's most recent Tactical Readiness Report, which Dovan could swear MacBride was putting out at a rate exceeding three a day, to a few notes about the medical department he had taken while chatting with the affable Doctor Sharp on the way in. Now that they were all laid out in front of him, however, and he could see the great big picture that all these minute details combined to create, he saw that his answer was simple. Was work onboard progressing well? _

**Dovan:** "Yes, ma'am."

_He smiled. The captain's almost-pointed left eyebrow twitched upwards, almost imperceptibly arching. _

**Cortez:** "Very… succinct, Commander."

_Alcar was not sure whether this was a complement. Cortez paused for a moment, then continued. _

**Cortez:** "The main reason I called this meeting is to set up a time frame for departure and to talk about our first assignment. But first things first, are your departments and the ship ready to launch?"

_John listened to the briefing, and when the skipper asked about each department's readiness, he spoke up. _

**Hastings:** "The marines and special ops team is all present and accounted for. Ideally we'll have time for small unit battle drills so each marine is familiar with his or her team mates, but they are good to go as is if needed."

_John tried his best to not sound as if he was boasting about the marines. In time, he was confident that those among the crew that despised the idea of marines on Federation ships would see that they brought more options to the table for the ship. Lorhrok leaned forward, clearing his throat ever so slightly, which heralded that he was about to begin his report. _

**Lorhrok:** "Captain, the Excelsior is one of the finest ships I can imagine serving on. All of our primary life support systems are at full capacity, and judging by the look of the diagnostics, we won't have to re-supply for the expected fifteen years. Main deflector and drive systems register as ready. The warp core is operating at full strength, EPS grids look fine, shield emitter grids check out, tractor beams are fully functional... in short, the Excelsior is as close to perfect as she's going to get. Engineering is ready at your order."

**MacBride:** "The shield grid diagnostic shows they are operating at maximum efficiency. The Phaser emitters are all functional and have been tested by the dock crew, although I would like to conduct a live fire test after we leave port. Our torpedo bays are full and launchers are now fully operational. Same thing though with the live fire test. All the armouries are stocked and secured and my security personnel are conducting daily training exercises."

**Helder:** "Well OPS is going fine, just waiting on the part of the crew and I'll have a full department. of course all systems test fine but till we going, I wont know if I'll know if any tweaking and remaking will be needed."

**Sharp:** "I really have only had a chance to take a quick look at the medical situation, but it looks great so far. I would like to rotate through all the new crew who have come aboard for medical checks. My staff have done a fair group of the crew who have been here longer than a month, but we still have about a hundred or so who haven't got around to coming in yet."

_Melissa looked around the table. _

**Sharp:** "I don't see many of the bridge crew on the list and I know your busy, but make some time."

_Hunter waited his turn and listened to the other reports. His turn came around. _

**Hunter:** "Well... My department is all set. We can handle anything from treat negotiations between implacable enemies to a wedding fit for royalty."

_After listening to his colleagues, Dovan gave what he understood to be the bottom line. _

**Dovan:** "Factoring everything in, captain, I think we can be underway in seventy-two hours."

**Cortez:** "Then I want to schedule launch for the day after tomorrow, use any resources you need to finish off the preparations."

_Dovan opened his mouth to point out that that was only forty-eight hours, then realized that she was probably not making an error in math. Rachel turned her chair slightly so she could also look at the screen on the wall. _

**Cortez:** "Our destination is the Valandrin system. We will be taking on a diplomatic assignment to meet with the Valandrin people and attempt to create a productive diplomatic relationship. Their proximity to the gateway to the Alpha Quadrant makes them a prime candidate as allies. If we could establish a friendly relationship with the species near to the gateway, then we can better protect it from the more dangerous elements of the Delta Quadrant. The Valandrin do not seem to be what we would conventionally see as friends, but a century ago we thought that way about the Klingons. If we can gain a friend in the Valandrin, we are on our way to securing our presence here."

_Rachel looked at the crew around the table. _

**Cortez:** "Questions, comments?"

_Deciding to take advantage of the momentary silence, Lt. Cmdr. Dovan jumped in. _

**Dovan:** "I've got a couple of questions, Captain."

_Per protocol, he waited for the captain's nod before proceeding. It wouldn't do to lapse into his old habits at the very first staff meeting. _

Dovan: "First, if I know Starfleet, they've run at least three hundred simulations of this mission before sending us on it. Not that I put to much trust in the brass hats, but, according to them, what are our odds of success? And, more importantly, what are the odds we end up in a potential-combat situation?"

**Cortez:** "There's an almost hundred percent chance of combat given the Valandrin inclination to violence, it is lethal combat we wish to avoid."

_Rachel looked at Daniel. _

**Cortez:** "I would like all of our weapons ready to disable, not destroy, so Phasers only unless we are under serious threat, I don't want to launch torpedoes unless there isn't other options."

_Daniel nodded with a certain looks of disappointment. _

**Cortez:** "Starfleet is remaining conservative on our odds for success, or primary mission objective is to establish diplomatic contact. Not much middle ground from what I have read on the Valandrin."

**Dovan:** "Thank you. Second, worst-case scenario, I assume, is that we somehow manage to start a war with these people. What does that do to Task Force 38's long-term operations around the Delta Gateway?"

_The captain scrutinized her first officer. _

**Cortez:** "High-minded curiosity, Mr. Dovan, or are you planning to set off an intergalactic incident?"

**Dovan:** "Only the former, I'm afraid. What I mean is, just how strategically critical is Valandrin, and how much do we stand to lose?"

**Cortez:** "Their position is the strategic benefit, but not a necessity. If things were to turn hostile they are far enough away from the gateway at their level of warp technology to not pose a massive threat, however having an enemy on the doorstep is not what we're after here."

**Dovan:** "Finally, what is the absolute worst insult you can say to a Valandrin?"

_Dovan thought he heard a muffled chuckle or two on the other side of the table. _

**Dovan:** "Just my high-minded curiosity again."

**Cortez:** "You are planning to start a war, aren't you? Next question."

**Lorhrok:** "Captain, are we going to be scanning the Valandrin ships or exchanging technology at all? I read through the preliminary reports, and their shields and Silithium reactors look very interesting. Any chance we're going to get our hands on that?"

_Hunter raised his hand slightly to get the Captain's attention. When she nodded he rose. _

**Hunter:** "Our primary goal here is to establish peaceful diplomatic relations with a view to the Valandrin joining the Federation. Technology exchange is another one of the reasons for seeking a treaty with these people."

**Helder:** "Has their been contact before we make contact? And I have to know why us, we haven't even had a shake down yet little alone work any bugs with the ship? But it could be fun what we know about the women?"

_Jack leaned back, and smiled. _

**Cortez:** "You do realise the Valandrin are similarly cold blooded as the Gorn?"

**MacBride:** "They're Lizards..."

_Daniel smiled a little, Hunter grimaced slightly at Jack's comment but shrugged and answered. _

**Hunter:** "We are not the first to make contact. Both previous attempts at contact have resulted in violence and failure. Analysis of the culture and previous contacts have determined that a show of force - violent force - is required to even get the attention of the Valandrin. And secondly, since they are a Matriarchal society...a female leader is required to get them to negotiate. Hence the assignment of this ship. I have prepared a brief that I will download to each department head. I think it would be wise to read it."

_Hunter glanced at his Captain. _

**Hunter:** "One of the reasons that I was assigned to this ship is in order for me to assist with the negotiations. I can advice only, though since the Valandrin will refuse to discuss anything with an... inferior."

**Cortez:** "To answer your question commander, a male directly addressing one of the Valandrin females would be very insulting to them, without them being addressed first."

**MacBride:** "Speak when your spoken to, then?"

**Cortez:** "Exactly."

_Rachel waited for a few moments while everyone absorbed the information. _

**Cortez:** "The Excelsior is one of the most advanced ships in the fleet, we are being sent because they respect strength and the Sovereign class is one hell of a show of strength. Diplomacy is all small steps and the first will be getting them to accept us and allow us to meet with them. I gather they have never been particularly interested in outside species, so this will be half the battle... Proverbially."

_Rachel got up and looked at her officers. _

**Cortez:** "If that's all, dismissed, I assume we all have a lot of work to be doing."


End file.
